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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. degree — from a university
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. saw — the tool
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wave — of the sea

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com